Build your pond - Pondless Waterfall Calculators

OK, there's no avoiding a little math in anything we choose to do, and there are several things to consider in order to properly plan your pondless waterfall. You will need to know the water volume held in your stream and waterfall basin to properly size your project, and you'll need to estimate your pump "head" - the amount of pressure your pump must have to lift water to your waterfall spillway. Estimating the volume is important, so that you have an adequate water supply. You don't want your "well to run dry" before the water returning from your stream replenishes the basin - and you will want your basin to hold the stream's water volume when you turn off your pump! The sections below will give you your base estimates, then help you refine your requirements.

Pondless waterfall volume calculations Find your waterfall's pump size  Please click here if you would like our help sizing your pondless waterfall components! Estimate water volume Waterfall basin liner size Maximize water volume & minimize your cost Estimating your pondless waterfall water volume Please enter all values in whole numbers or in decimal format. For example, use 1.5 feet for a foot and a half! Stream volume - Assume 3 inches (.25 feet) for the stream depth! Maximum Length in feet: Maximum Width, in feet:   Average Depth, in feet:      Estimated water volume: gallons. Basin volume Maximum Length in feet: Maximum Width, in feet:   Average Depth, in feet:      Estimated water volume: gallons. Suprised by the low volume in the waterfall basin calculation? Since the basin will be backfilled with rock and gravel, the calculator assumes a water volume of 20% of the hole you dig. If the basin you planned is too small to hold the stream's water volume (with enough extra water to keep the pump running after your stream fills) you can adjust the input to find the correct basin size needed to support your stream's water volume! Find your basin liner size Please enter all values in whole numbers or in decimal format. For example, use 1.5 feet for a foot and a half! Liner sizes come in standard widths of 10', 15' and 30', and are typically cut in 5' increments. Other cuts are considered "custom" cuts and are priced differently. Hint: After you calculate your liner size, "round up" to the nearest number that is a multiple of 5' to order the correct standard size liner! Maximum Length in feet:   Maximum Width, in feet:    Maximum Depth, in feet:     Liner Length: feet. Liner Width:   feet. You will need enough liner length to cover the stream from the basin to the spillway at the head of your waterfall. If you want a longer stream than the standard kits allow, you can always order a "waterfall cut" length of liner to build your stream. Just allow enough length to overlap into your basin to maintain water integrity! PondBuilder Matrix Small matrix: 16 gallon capacity Large matrix: 32 gallon capacity One of the largest costs in building a pondless waterfall is in the rock and gravel you will need to landscape your stream and backfill your waterfall basin. The rock used to fill the basin will take up approximately 80% of the basin's total volume, and can often exceed the cost of the waterfall kit you purchase. A simple and inexpensive way to increase the water volume of your basin - and decrease your cost for stone - is to use a pond matrix. Resembling a milk crate, a matrix will greatly increase the water volume in your basin, so you can reduce it's overall size - and the amount of fill the basin requires! When assembled, the matrix is strong enough to drive over, and it will easily hold the weight of your rock fill. The pond matrix can be found in our product catalog, in the "components" section of the pondless waterfall kit menu item. Please click here if you would like our help sizing your pondless waterfall components! Estimate head pressure Estimate waterfall spillway depth Estimate electric use For waterfalls and streams, you will want to consider the amount of pump head pressure (generally referred to on pump flow charts as "Head") that your system will have, in order to help you determine the correct pump size. Note: This calculator will give you a good ballpark estimate for planning your pond; if you would like to do the math for yourself and get a more exact measurement, here is a link to an excellent reference document - the pond plumbing primer! The three main sources of pump head pressure are:   Static Head - this is the vertical distance (rise) you want to     pump the water above the pond surface to the waterfall     spillway.   Friction Head - this is the resistance from pipe as the water     flows through. (Since the number of pipe elbows and tee     fittings can significantly raise pressure requirements, we     recommend using flexible tubing instead of rigid PVC pipe.)   Pressure Head - the additional pressure required by 90°     fittings such as at the check valve, and any reducers required     to make your plumbing connections. The total number of     other adapters, such as bulkhead fittings and valves, also     comes into play here. When you finish this calculation, please go to the next section to calculate the flow requirements for your waterfall spillway. To estimate the total pump head pressure: Please enter all values in whole numbers or in decimal format. For example, use 1.5 inches for an inch and a half! Total rise, in feet:   Hose length in feet: Number of angled fittings & reducers: Number of other adapters: Pump head pressure: You will want to size your pump to provide the water depth you're planning for your waterfall spillway and/or stream. Use this calculator to help you estimate the pump's flow rate (GPH) to achieve your desired flow. Use the manufacturer's waterfall vault spillway width, or the width of the stream you're planning if you want it to carry this depth for it's entire length. When you get the GPH estimate for the calculator, simply use the pump's flow rate graph to find a pump that will deliver the flow you want - at the head you calculated on the previous page! Hint: As a general rule, you will want approximately 100 GPH for every inch of width in your waterfall spillway. For more a more dramatic waterfall, you can increase the flow rate - but plan to accommodate the increase in stream volume and splash! Please enter all values in whole numbers or in decimal format. For example, use 1.5 inches for an inch and a half! Spillway Width in inches:   Spillway Depth in inches: Required GPH at spillway head: The cost of running a pump depends on how may watts it uses, since electricity is measured in terms of kilowatt hours. As a general rule, the larger the pump the more watts it uses - but pumps with the same GPH can differ quite a bit in their watts rating. Pond pumps should run 24 hours a day to maintain your pond's ecosystem. To estimate what running your pump will cost each day, simply plug your pump's watt rating and your cost of a kw/hr into the calculator on the right. If you don't plan to run your pondless waterfall continuously, your costs will be lower than this estimate. Please enter all values in whole numbers or in decimal format. For example, use .09 for 9 cents! Pump rating, in watts:   Electric cost per kw/hr: Dollar cost per day:  Did you find what you were looking for easily and quickly? If not, please tell us how we can improve our site and serve you better!